KARACHI, Jan 22: Different groups of transport operators on Thursday gave a token strike call for Saturday to pressurize the government into either withdrawing the recent increase in the diesel price or raising transport fares.

Transporters, who have been consistently violating traffic rules and operating smoke-emitting and wornout buses, demanded an increase in transport fares.

The last revision of the fares was effected on Feb 28, 2003 by the Sindh government, which was subject to the condition that transporters would make sure that old smoke-emitting vehicles were replaced and overloading of passengers avoided.

But they continued to violate traffic rules and regulations, overload their vehicles with passengers, play tape-recorders and blow pressure horns, besides violating fitness rules. Buses, minibuses and coaches, which constitute 3.4 per cent of the total number of vehicles, are responsible for 72 per cent fatal and non-fatal accidents, according to official statistics.

Two major transport groups - the Karachi Transport Ittehad and the National Transport Ittehad - continue to demand that the federal government disband the Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC).

KTI chief Irshad Bokhari told Dawn that an emergency meeting of KTI members was held on Jan 17 on the issue of the increase. He said the meeting observed that the Rs1.60 per litre increase by the OCAC was unbearable and unacceptable in the prevailing situation.